Field Talk » Birds http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk audio interviews go into the field with ecologists Thu, 18 Apr 2013 22:08:18 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 2006-2007 podcast@esa.org (ESA Podcast) podcast@esa.org (ESA Podcast) ESA, Ecology, Environment, Beyond Frontier, Field Talks, The Ecologist Goes to Washington 1440 http://www.esa.org/podcast/images/esa_podcast_small.jpg Field Talk http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk 144 144 ESA Podcast: Field Talks, Beyond the Frontier, The Ecologist Goes to Washington Field Talk explores research results – and the stories of the ecologists behind them – from three of the Society’s journals: Ecology, Ecological Applications, and Ecological Monographs. ESA, Podcast, Field, Talks, Ecology, Environment, Frontiers, Environmental, Science, Ecological, Society, of ESA Podcast ESA Podcast podcast@esa.org no no Immersed in the clouds: Interview with tropical cloud forest researcher http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/immersed-in-the-clouds-interview-with-tropical-cloud-forest-researcher/ http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/immersed-in-the-clouds-interview-with-tropical-cloud-forest-researcher/#comments Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:41:08 +0000 liza http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/?p=217 Greg Goldsmith, tropical plant ecologist from the University of California, BerkeleyThere is a world within the canopy of a tropical cloud forest that not many people get to see. In this unique ecosystem – maintained by the exceptionally wet microclimate of cloud cover—orchids, moss, lichens and other epiphytes grow in every crease and pocket of the supporting tree branches. Here, hundreds of species of birds, monkeys and other mammal pollinators navigate the aerial landscape, scattering seeds along the way (see below video).

Greg Goldsmith, tropical plant ecologist from the University of California, Berkeley, spends his days harnessed in this “canopy in the clouds”—the name of the interactive, educational website he is currently working on with photographer Drew Fulton and cinematographer Colin Witherill. Read more in the EcoTone post.

Photo Credit: Drew Fulton

]]> http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/immersed-in-the-clouds-interview-with-tropical-cloud-forest-researcher/feed/ 1 0:07:51 There is a world within the canopy of a tropical cloud forest that not many people get to see. In this unique ecosystem – maintained by the exceptionally wet microclimate of cloud cover—orchids, moss, lichens and other epiphytes grow in ever[...] There is a world within the canopy of a tropical cloud forest that not many people get to see. In this unique ecosystem – maintained by the exceptionally wet microclimate of cloud cover—orchids, moss, lichens and other epiphytes grow in every crease and pocket of the supporting tree branches. Here, hundreds of species of birds, monkeys and other mammal pollinators navigate the aerial landscape, scattering seeds along the way (see below video). Greg Goldsmith, tropical plant ecologist from the University of California, Berkeley, spends his days harnessed in this “canopy in the clouds”—the name of the interactive, educational website he is currently working on with photographer Drew Fulton and cinematographer Colin Witherill. Read more in the EcoTone post. Photo Credit: Drew Fulton ESA Podcast no no Battles of the sexes: Competition and evolution in tropical hummingbirds http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/field-talk-battles-of-the-sexes-competition-and-evolution-in-tropical-hummingbirds/ http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/field-talk-battles-of-the-sexes-competition-and-evolution-in-tropical-hummingbirds/#comments Thu, 28 May 2009 21:07:59 +0000 liza http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/?p=127 Ethan Temeles, a biologist at Amherst CollegeIn this edition of Field Talk, we catch up with Ethan Temeles, a biologist at Amherst College, who tells us a tale of competition among the sexes in Caribbean hummingbirds – competition so severe that it drives their evolution. The short, straight bills of male purple-throated caribs and the long, curved bills of female caribs correspond to the shape of heliconia flowers on which they feed. The story got more complicated, though, when Dr. Temeles and his students discovered that despite their curved bills, females prefer straight flowers to curved ones. Join us as Dr. Temeles explains how this species’ sexual dimorphism evolved, and read more in his paper in the May issue of Ecology.

]]> http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/field-talk-battles-of-the-sexes-competition-and-evolution-in-tropical-hummingbirds/feed/ 0 0:09:40 In this edition of Field Talk, we catch up with Ethan Temeles, a biologist at Amherst College, who tells us a tale of competition among the sexes in Caribbean hummingbirds – competition so severe that it drives their evolution. The short, straight[...] In this edition of Field Talk, we catch up with Ethan Temeles, a biologist at Amherst College, who tells us a tale of competition among the sexes in Caribbean hummingbirds – competition so severe that it drives their evolution. The short, straight bills of male purple-throated caribs and the long, curved bills of female caribs correspond to the shape of heliconia flowers on which they feed. The story got more complicated, though, when Dr. Temeles and his students discovered that despite their curved bills, females prefer straight flowers to curved ones. Join us as Dr. Temeles explains how this species’ sexual dimorphism evolved, and read more in his paper in the May issue of Ecology. ESA Podcast no no To fly or not to fly? Diving birds shun air travel http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/field-talk-to-fly-or-not-to-fly-diving-birds-shun-air-travel/ http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/field-talk-to-fly-or-not-to-fly-diving-birds-shun-air-travel/#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:22:28 +0000 liza http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/?p=27 The ability to fly is one of the most significant adaptations in animal history. Some birds, however, have opted out of flying – evolutionarily speaking. In this installment of Field Talk, we catch up with Dr. Rory Wilson, a professor of aquatic biology at the University of Swansea. His paper in the November issue of Ecological Monographs examines the Galápagos cormorant, an aquatic bird that hunts seafloor prey off the coasts of the islands where it makes its home. Wilson and his colleagues find that the peculiar conditions on and around the islands has led to the loss of flight in these cormorants, a trade-off that gives these birds better diving ability.

]]> http://www.esa.org/fieldtalk/field-talk-to-fly-or-not-to-fly-diving-birds-shun-air-travel/feed/ 1 0:10:32 The ability to fly is one of the most significant adaptations in animal history. Some birds, however, have opted out of flying – evolutionarily speaking. In this installment of Field Talk, we catch up with Dr. Rory Wilson, a professor of aquatic [...] The ability to fly is one of the most significant adaptations in animal history. Some birds, however, have opted out of flying – evolutionarily speaking. In this installment of Field Talk, we catch up with Dr. Rory Wilson, a professor of aquatic biology at the University of Swansea. His paper in the November issue of Ecological Monographs examines the Galápagos cormorant, an aquatic bird that hunts seafloor prey off the coasts of the islands where it makes its home. Wilson and his colleagues find that the peculiar conditions on and around the islands has led to the loss of flight in these cormorants, a trade-off that gives these birds better diving ability. ESA Podcast no no